


Trees and Bears and Snow!  Oh My!

by ladydragon76



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: M/M, Sticky, TFs are Human, but it's the Weapon of the Week's fault this time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-07-24 01:17:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20017882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladydragon76/pseuds/ladydragon76
Summary: Summary:Lost and left behind after the Weapon of the Weektmgoes awry, Grimlock and Starscream have to find their way through the wilderness of the Canadian Rockies and back to civilization- as Humans.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **'Verse:** G1  
>  **Series:** None  
>  **Rating:** NC-17  
>  **Characters:** Grimlock/Starscream  
>  **Warnings:** TFs are Human, but it's the Weapon of the Weektm's fault this time, Sticky  
>  **Notes:** Reward fic for Jbirrd who wanted some adventure Jetasaurus stuff! Sticky Smut but after they're mechs again.

The battle had been over and the warring mechs gone long enough for the birds to start chirping again. Which meant Grimlock had been left behind. That was not something that happened. For all that he and Optimus bashed heads, for all that it was a fight in the beginning for Ratchet and Wheeljack to convince the Autobots that the Dinobots were sparked and not merely drones, no mech was ever left behind. Not without someone staying to try to find him. Even in medical emergencies, _someone_ would have been left to search for Grimlock.

A burst of fear tingled, cold and startling though him, and Grimlock's optics snapped open.

No. No, he was fine. Though his self-diagnostic was offline.

The pine trees towered over Grimlock, and he frowned up at them. They were tall before, but not that tall. A nervous chuckle over being left so long the trees had grown escaped, but it sounded _wrong_.

 _I need to move_ , Grimlock thought and, careful of any injuries, sat up. "The fuck...?"

It was his voice, and those were clearly his hands he was moving and looking at, but they were decidedly less metallic than they should have been.

Grimlock heaved a sigh and flopped back to stare up at a sky going a dozen shades of pink and orange and purple as the sun set. "What did you do, matre?" he asked aloud, though Wheeljack was clearly nowhere nearby. No wonder he'd been left. The Autobots wouldn't have been looking for human casualties here. It'd been a fast skirmish, one that he'd been sent out to fight simply to meet and stop the Decepticons traveling over Canada and so -relatively speaking- close to the _Ark_.

Lying around wasn't going to solve his problems, however, so Grimlock sat back up, then climbed to his feet, dusting old, pokey pine needles, dirt, and stars knew what else from his new skin as he went. He was naked, Grimlock noted. It was spring, but he was hundreds of miles from the _Ark_ -at a conservative guess- and night was coming.

 _I'm going to be really cold tonight._ Grimlock huffed a laugh and looked around. _I'm going to freak out any real humans I see_. Humans didn't often do naked, and they tended to think the worst of other humans who did. Grimlock would have to make himself look as pathetic as he could when he finally found someone. Before that, though, he knew he needed to get moving. There was no water in his immediate area, and he and his brothers had watched enough survival type reality TV to know humans needed water.

What did they call it? Rule of three, or something? Three minutes without air, three days without water, and three weeks without food? Grimlock thought that sounded about right. Well, he had plenty of air. The mountain breeze was cool against him, but it was fresh and smelled of pine trees and rich earth. Food would be harder, but Grimlock could remember seeing towns and roadways as they flew over in Skyfire. And really, all he needed was a phone. There was a way to reach the _Ark_ , and Ratchet had insisted all the Dinobots memorize the number human officials were given to use. Just in case and because the world was a weird place.

Grimlock's poor family. If nothing else, he knew his creators and brothers would be worried about him. Something must have gone fairly seriously wrong for them to rush out without leaving _someone_ behind to look for him.

Well, there was nothing for it. Grimlock needed to move, and he needed to try to get himself home, not wait and hope. Checking the sky, he set off southward, only to stop after half a dozen steps.

There was a flash of bright white, not exactly uncommon as higher up the mountain there was still snow. There were even a few tiny patches left deep under the heavier trees where the sun didn't reach. But this wasn't snow, or it shouldn't be, lying out in the open like that. Grimlock squinted and moved closer, and in just a couple steps he knew he was looking at another person. His spark -or was it a heart now?- skipped a pulse. This is why no one stayed behind!

Grimlock rushed to the other person, dropping to his knees to roll him over and gasped. "Wow." Whoever he was, he was fucking gorgeous even as a human. Grimlock hoped it wasn't Ratchet because he might never be able to look at his creator the same way again. Long white hair tangled over the ground, and skin a lot more pale than Grimlock's practically glowed in a late ray of the sun.

A soft groan sounded as Grimlock carefully checked for injuries. There were bruises on the other's neck, like something had wrapped around it and squeezed. There were also some scrapes and scratches, but no fresh blood. Grimlock frowned at the marks, then looked down at himself. There was something of a bruise on his forearm, and he could remember blocking a thrown boulder and the dent it'd left, but that was it.

"Nnhh..." Eyelashes fluttered before parting to reveal green eyes. "...what?" The voice was scratchy, raw, and Grimlock had a sudden sinking feeling.

"Take your time," Grimlock said, deciding to forego the act he and his brothers usually used. This was a serious situation, and playing the part of the dumb Dinobot would waste time and effort. "Not sure what happened, but if we can get back to the _Ark_ , I'm sure Wheeljack can figure it out and fix us." Assuming Wheeljack wasn't lying on the ground somewhere, knocked out too.

"What?"

 _That **is** Starscream. Shit_, Grimlock thought. Pretty, but screechy and violent and dangerous. Not exactly who Grimlock wanted beside him in a survival situation where he was hardly an expert. More worrisome, were there more Decepticons around?

"Starscream?" Grimlock asked, wincing already and bracing.

"Yes?" Starscream croaked, one pale hand lifting to rub at his throat.

"You've got bruises there."

"Who are you? Why do you know me? And why am I so small?" Starscream asked, his eyes only half open.

"Grimlock. Because I've been fighting against you my whole life, and because we're currently human-shaped." At least 'human-shaped' was what Grimlock was going with. He liked humans in general well enough, but he didn't want to be stuck as one permanently.

Starscream's eyes shut, and he sighed deeply. "Fragging Megatron." He looked back up at Grimlock. "Was anyone else hit?"

"Hit?" Grimlock thought back, and... yes, alright now that he really did try to remember he recalled a flash and boom. "I don't know."

Starscream pushed himself up, surprisingly calm, Grimlock thought, but the Seeker was still rather dazed. He wobbled even in a sitting position, and Grimlock reached out a hand to help brace him. "I took a shot from one of you Autobots and that stupid _invention_ " Starscream sneered, "of Megatron's exploded."

"Wheeljack can fix us," Grimlock said. "Just gotta get home."

"Oh, yes, I'm sure your precious comrades will fall all over themselves to help me!" Starscream snapped. He then took a swing at Grimlock, soft human palm smacking against Grimlock's chest in a mighty little push that didn't so much as rock Grimlock back on his heels.

He tried not to smirk, but failed. Luckily, Starscream was busy huffing away from his ineffective tantrum and didn't notice. Grimlock wiped his face back to a more neutral expression, already missing his masks. "Better than staying out here. Unless it'll wear off? What was supposed to happen?" he asked, because what Megatron's 'inventions' were _supposed_ to do, versus what they ended up doing were always two very different things.

Starscream delicately picked his barefooted way over the bed of old pine needles and didn't answer until he found a more or less grassy spot to stand in and look up at the sky. "He said it'd render our enemies helpless." The Seeker heaved a sigh, arms flinging out a bit as he looked back at Grimlock. "For once the glitch was right. We're naked in the cold northern woods of this frelling mudball, and I shouldn't need to tell you the danger we're in."

No, Starscream didn't. Grimlock and his brothers -and the Aerialbots as well- had been specifically built with better thermo-regulation than those who came from Cybertron with its lack of seasons. Grimlock wasn't at all sure his ability to handle cooler or hotter temperatures would carry over to this form, but he was well aware of how dangerous even the current air temperature could be if he and Starscream were caught in just a mild rain shower.

"Standing around won't help," Grimlock said and tried to judge the time by the sun and the way the world felt around him. "Think south's this way," he said pointing.

Starscream scowled. "Pure genius, aren't you?" The Seeker stopped and planted his hands on his hips, scowl becoming a glare. "Or are you? What happened to all that 'me Grimlock' slag?"

Grimlock shrugged. "Learned to talk when we were about two." He kept walking, eyes shifting between the ground for dangers to his fragile human feet and the horizon in case they neared a road or something. Water. They needed to find water- or something to melt the random patches of snow in. He also looked for anyone else who might have been changed, but memories of the battle gave him hope. He'd been close to Starscream, but they had been a little bit away from the others. Maybe no one else was changed?

"So you've been pretending to be stupid for three decades?" Starscream sneered.

"We like being underestimated," Grimlock replied, and managed to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Not all of the Autobots accepted them, no matter what. Swoop was on his way to being a truly capable medic, but most still preferred Hoist if they couldn't have Ratchet- despite Hoist's protests. Sludge was gentle and sweet to everyone. He loved puzzles and putting things together, the more complicated the better. Sludge could repair just about anything if left enough time to tinker- which Wheeljack and Ratchet did their best to allow. Slag was a competent lab assistant to Wheeljack and had become so proficient at glass blowing that the Dinobots had their very own bank account to keep the money he earned from the humans who snapped up every colorful vase and bowl and sculpture Slag decided to sell. Snarl had started out a vicious and powerful fighter, but the training they all continued with had turned him into a fairly formidable warrior. Truth be told, Grimlock kept training more to stay ahead of his brother than out of any fear of the Decepticons. Though few cared, so the Dinobots played dumb.

~

They walked for hours, the sun tracking farther and farther to the right. Grimlock occasionally called out for others, but there was never an answer. He was beginning to worry about finding water before it was too dark to make a camp, but just when he was about to suggest they stop and make a shelter, something glittered below the ridge they just crested.

"Water!"

"What? Hey, wait!" Starscream yelped and hurried after Grimlock as the Dinobot made his way down a bit of a steep incline.

"Water," Grimlock repeated, pointing. It took them a few minutes, and Starscream was cursing in a hiss by the time they reached the stream.

It flowed over smoothed rocks, and when Grimlock put a hand in, it was icy cold. But it was clear, and what had that one thing said? Dehydration will kill faster than giardia?

"We're going to have to risk it," Grimlock mumbled, and scooped water up to drink.

"Risk what?" Starscream asked, crouching a few feet from Grimlock and dipping a hand into the stream as well.

"Not boiling the water before drinking it," Grimlock answered between mouthfuls. "Fill up, then we'll break off some of the pine branches and make a lean-to for the night."

Starscream frowned and looked up at the sky. "The sun won't set for hours. We're not stopping here!"

"It's going to take a few hours of hard work to make a shelter so we can avoid hypothermia tonight," Grimlock said, arms draped over his knees, fingers dripping back into the stream. "At least this way we can avoid dehydration." Food was going to be an issue, but Grimlock had no solution for that. They couldn't make a fire, so even if they could somehow manage to catch something worth eating, they couldn't cook it. Contaminated water was bad enough, but humans couldn't eat raw squirrel or rabbit- at least he didn't think they could.

Oh! Fish...

But no, the stream was too shallow for them.

"That's ridiculous!" Starscream stood and huffed away to grab the nearest branch. "It can't possibly take that much time." Though as Grimlock watched, Starscream struggled to break it off.

"Tree's too young," Grimlock said and moved off to a larger, older one that looked drier. He picked a thinner branch too, and snapped it off. "You want dry and thin, not green."

"Get fragged, Autobot!"

In the end, Grimlock did most of the work. Starscream didn't sit, but he did complain. His feet hurt. His arms hurt. If he just had wings he could fly away. The Seeker cursed Megatron, Grimlock, the Earth, and Primus, and then flew into a rage when Grimlock called him over to their bed for the night.

"I'm _NOT_ recharging with _you_!"

"Then die from pneumonia," Grimlock said and rolled over, arranging a few more branches over himself as a blanket. The sun was nearly set and this deep into the forest the temperature had already dropped significantly. The spread of pine needles did help. It wasn't terribly comfortable, and Grimlock did have to shift around and snap little twigs off that were poking into him, but once he settled, his own body heat was trapped a bit and he found he was tired and warm enough to fall asleep.

It was fully dark when Grimlock was shocked awake by ice against his skin.

"I hate you," Starscream pouted, but Grimlock said nothing and simply turned over to rearrange the branches and pull the contrary Seeker in close. It cost them a fair amount of the heat Grimlock had collected, but Starscream did stop shivering after a bit. He laid tense, arms tucked up between their chests, knees jammed against Grimlock's thighs, but he didn't whine, and the heat began to collect again.


	2. Chapter 2

"We need to stop," Grimlock said, stopping at the edge of a ridge they'd been trying to find a safer way down.

"It's barely noon!" Starscream protested, but he stopped next to Grimlock and followed the finger pointing at the dark clouds.

"That's going to hit us head on. Been watching it."

Starscream shivered. Wet would be even colder, and despite the movement keeping him warm enough during the day time, nights were the very Pits- assuming the Pits were iced over. For the past two mornings he'd awoken to find himself shaking from cold despite being wrapped up in Grimlock's warm arms. Primus, help them, Starscream thought and cast his gaze around desperately.

For once, Primus was listening.

The slap echoed, but Starscream didn't care about the sting on his palm or if Grimlock -tank of a human he was- felt it. "Look!" It was green, but the wrong kind of green. "That's a domicile!"

Grimlock looked, and Starscream pointed more, grip tightening on the Dinobot's arm when he didn't move or say anything.

"I see it," Grimlock finally said. "We can try for it, but that's gotta be a couple miles off, and we're not down this drop yet."

"Better than a fraggin lean-to!" Starscream didn't wait. Frag waiting. Frag finding a 'safer' way down. He was still a Seeker and heights didn't scare him.

"Starscream!"

Hah! Let the Dinobot follow him for a change, Starscream thought and winced as one of the rocks shifted under his aching and battered foot. He paused for a moment to be sure it was stable then moved down farther, his hands on the tumble of gravel and stone for the extra balance.

"Hah!" Starscream crowed, out loud this time, once he reached the bottom. He looked up, but Grimlock was just _sitting_ there! "Come on, you oaf! That storm isn't going to wait on you! And neither am I!"

Grimlock's face twisted, and Starscream could admit that the big lug was certainly more likely than Starscream to dislodge the rocks by virtue of his weight alone. Still, Grimlock began the climb down, much slower than Starscream, but he managed. Starscream stepped back and to the side as a few rocks clattered free.

"Hurry up!" Starscream called as thunder rumbled in the distance. "I mean it! I won't wait for you!"

Grimlock was still a good twenty feet up, more than enough to severely injure a human if it fell, but Starscream was much more worried about the storm. He'd flown in plenty of Earth's wild weather, he'd felt his wings ice, been battered by the wind. He'd gloried in the rush of it, but he knew far too personally just how dangerous they could be too. They weren't so far north as to be a threat to him if he weren't in this ridiculous squishy form, but he _was_ squishy.

"Hurry!" Starscream shouted again, eyes on the dark clouds. The wind was picking up and he couldn't see the green painted roof of the cabin anymore.

"I am!" Grimlock snapped, sliding in a dusty avalanche of stone the last body length down. He stumble-ran out of the path of the continuing fall of rock and glared at Starscream. "You can't carry me if I get hurt."

"I wouldn't anyway," Starscream replied instantly, but something fluttered in his spark at the thought of being alone out here. His chance at being returned to normal, assuming the effect didn't just wear off, rested with the Autobots. He couldn't very well show up at the _Ark_ without Grimlock and expect help.

Grimlock gave him a flat look and set off.

~

It wasn't long before lightning cracked over them, and Starscream could feel his human heart pounding harder in his chest with every crash of thunder. He knew only too well what even an indirect strike could do to a human, and they were surrounded by trees- nature's lightning rods. Primus save him. He was also shaking from cold, skin soaked, sopping hair washed into his face by the driving rain.

"I think I see it!" Grimlock shouted over the din of the storm, one finger pointing.

Starscream squinted, shoved the hair away again, and thought he could see the more regular brown of a wall. They picked up the pace, Starscream biting his lip as a sharper stone jabbed the soft part of his foot.

Grimlock beat Starscream to the door and pounded the heel of his hand on it. "Hello!" Grimlock bellowed. "Hey! We need help! Hello!"

"No one's here, you idiot!" Starscream snapped, sure of it as he looked around from the dilapidated porch and dripping overhang. The windows were covered in grime and dust from the inside, spider webs tore in the wind, and the wood was old, blackening and in ill repair. He shoved Grimlock aside, fully aware that the Dinobot humored him in stepping out of the way, and turned the knob.

Hinges screamed and resisted Starscream's pull, but the door did open, and he hurried inside, desperate to get out of the freezing wind and rain. Grimlock followed, pulling the door shut behind him with a groan of hinges and slam of wood on wood.

Starscream stared around the single room, shaking, teeth chattering together. There was an old bed, the mattress stained and sunken to one side, the old metal tarnished and dark, and in the dim storm light through the grungy windows, he couldn't tell if it'd been brass or silver. Water was dripping from somewhere off to the other side, though he couldn't see that either. There was a row of counters with cupboards above them. Grimlock moved toward those, opening them and pulling out the cans he found.

"Food!" Grimlock gasped and began to wrench open the drawers below the counter.

"Is it safe?" Starscream asked. He didn't exactly like or appreciate humans much, but he had gleaned enough, not to mention he studied organic life once upon a time. He knew that food only remained edible without causing illness for so long.

Grimlock slammed a metal object onto the countertop and picked up the nearest can to squint at it. "Yeah! Yeah it's within date."

Starscream hurried over, lip curling in disgust, but he knew damn well what the aching cramp in his middle left meant. "Maybe this place isn't completely abandoned after all," he murmured.

"Probably vacant for winter," Grimlock agreed.

"Whoever it belongs to, they don't take care of it." Starscream fidgeted next to Grimlock as the Dinobot worked the can opener and peeled off the lid. "What is it?"

"Peaches," Grimlock replied and fished out a half sphere of orangey, squishy... peach apparently.

Starscream's stomach turned and clenched, but then he caught the scent of it, and the disgust and nausea whipped into desperate hunger so fast it left him panting.

"Chew it well," Grimlock warned, fishing out his own piece.

Starscream nibbled at the edge, syrupy juice rolling down the side of his hand. Sweetness burst throughout his mouth, strongly enough to make his jaw tingle and clench. The taste was like nothing he'd ever had before but reminded him of the finest energon treats. The texture, too, was odd, a bit mushy, but firm enough to make him think of soft oil cakes. Over all, not as bad as he'd been braced for.

"It's good, huh?" Grimlock asked and held the can out in offer. "Watch the edges, they're sharp enough to cut."

Starscream took the can and dug out another piece, minding the edges. "Surprisingly." He handed the can back, there only being what looked like one more bit in it. "This isn't enough, you know. I may not know all that much about humans, but I know splitting one tiny can of food isn't enough for us."

"No," Grimlock agreed, sucking his fingers clean. "But there are more cans here, and we can use these to carry water in when we leave."

Starscream tipped his head and watched in curiosity as Grimlock crossed back to the door and went out into the storm. Shivering, Starscream edged toward the door while Grimlock stood in the rain, rinsing and then trying to catch water in the can.

"You're going to get struck by lightning, and then what will I tell your creators?" Starscream called, only for Grimlock's reply to be drowned out by booming thunder right over their heads. Anxiety shot through Starscream's spark. "Get in here!"

Grimlock set the can on the ground and stepped back to the porch. "It'll be clean water for us to drink."

"I don't care, you idiot!"

Grimlock pulled the door shut and turned to Starscream, his piercing look making Starscream feel more naked than their lack of clothing. "We're safe for now." He looked around before striding over to a trunk by the foot of the bed. "Maybe there are some clothes here?"

"Clothes?" Starscream glanced back at the unopened cans of food, then at the fireplace, but there was no dry wood inside. Clothes would probably be nice.

"Here. These are definitely too small for me." Grimlock tossed Starscream a faded pair of jeans, then went to digging more fabric out of the chest.

Starscream frowned, but he shook out the wad of denim and decided it couldn't hurt to try. They were loose on him, a little short in the legs perhaps, but they would do.

"Boots," Grimlock said, followed by two thunks on the wood floor. "Definitely too small for me." He looked back and forth between Starscream's feet and the worn leather boots. "Might even be a bit too small for you actually, but cramped toes will be better than bleeding feet."

Starscream agreed and walked over to try them on. Sitting in the jeans pinched his human interfacing equipment, and he gasped, quickly adjusting the crotch. He opted to ignore Grimlock's quiet snicker and asked, "Stealing from this human isn't against your Autobot morals?"

"We need it," Grimlock replied. "It's a matter of survival, and once we're back to normal, I can see about paying back whoever it is somehow."

Starscream snorted. _He_ didn't mind, but he was... grateful to whoever had left these things.

Another scrap of fabric was dropped beside Starscream on the mattress, but he focused on shoving his feet into the boots. "Tight," he said and stood, pacing a bit. "Primus, that's _weird_!" Not being able to feel the floor on his feet was strange as all Pits. The boots were tight, forcing his toes to curl and squish together uncomfortably, but if he could barely feel the flooring, then he certainly wouldn't feel every little pebble. Of course walking around led him to discover a new problem. "These pants won't stay up." Every few steps, Starscream had to hitch the top back up before it could slip lower than his aft.

"We can tear a strip of cloth for a belt if there's no rope around here," Grimlock said and pulled a shirt over his head.

Starscream couldn't help but laugh. "Can you even breathe in that?"

"Not well," Grimlock admitted and peeled it carefully over his head. "Here. Guess I'll just wear a toga."

Starscream caught the shirt and righted it before pulling the light weight item over his own head. It wasn't much for warmth, but the white material was soft against his skin. Unlike the coarse denim.

"Hm..." Grimlock fussed with a large rectangle of floral printed fabric, and Starscream grinned as he realized the Dinobot meant to _wear_ the sheet.

"Naked might be less odd, honestly," Starscream commented, snickering even as he moved to help. "That rope you mentioned might help here too."

"Yeah." Grimlock gave up with a sigh and simply tied the ends around his waist. "Maybe this'll keep any splinters out of my ass though until we find it. Let's eat some more."

Starscream followed along, but not until after he'd taken the boots back off. Those would be reserved for walking outside.


	3. Chapter 3

Grimlock woke to the sound of muffled birdsong and a snuggly warmth pressed to his side.

The cabin was dim still, the sun unable to reach through the window grime despite its best efforts. The air smelled like damp wood and mildew, and was decidedly chilly, but they'd survived the storm, managed to eat something, and after a nice long night of sleep out of the elements, Grimlock felt fairly good. Starscream's hand was a warm spot over Grimlock's spark, curled there loosely. White blonde hair spilled over Grimlock's shoulder, hiding the Seeker's face. He was still sound asleep. Grimlock could tell by how loose-limbed and heavy Starscream was against him, and he was loathe to move, but they really needed to get going.

"Starscream," Grimlock said softly, voice rumbling and a bit rough from sleep still. He set his hand over the Seeker's and gave it a light squeeze. "Time to wake up." It took a few more words and even a slight shrug from Grimlock's shoulder to rouse Starscream, who groaned and tried to burrow in closer.

Grimlock debated the virtues of staying one more day to eat and rest up against his desire to get home, and sighed. "We need to get out of here and get home." He wiggled his shoulder around, jostling Starscream until the Seeker cursed under his breath and pushed away from Grimlock.

"You're annoying, you know that?"

"And you're adorable," Grimlock shot back and tucked a hank of white, tousled hair behind Starscream's ear before standing. His sheet-come-kilt slipped a bit, but they had found some thin cord-like rope under the sink the night before, and a serrated steak knife. Starscream now had his belt, and Grimlock had made himself one too. There was a second sheet, one with elastic gathering at the corners, and he planned to use that one as a wrap. They were floral patterned, yellow roses on a pale blue background, and Grimlock rather liked it despite knowing how silly it looked. He would look silly and stay warm though. Warm-ish.

"What about your feet?" Starscream asked, pushing his feet into the boots and pulling the strings tight.

Grimlock lifted his feet, one at a time, and looked at the bottoms. There were some scratches and darker spots through the dirt that looked like bruises, they ached for sure, but- "I'll be fine. If we can find something then great, if not, I'll just have to manage." They couldn't share the boots, Grimlock had looked at their feet, felt Starscream's with his own. His were wider and longer, and he'd never get his feet crammed into those boots. Assuming Starscream would even think to, or be willing, to share.

The Seeker made a noncommittal noise and rose. "We're bringing the food, right?" he asked, but Grimlock was already tucking cans into a fold of his wrapped sheet.

"Yeah. Like I said, I'll just see if we can't repay the owner once we're normal again." Grimlock looked around, trying to think what else they could use. He _did_ feel just a little guilty, but he wasn't lying when he said survival came first. He'd live just fine with the nibble of guilt the rest of his hopefully very long life if he had to. "Ready?"

"No," Starscream grumbled but walked over and shoved open the creaky door anyway.

The morning air outside was crisp, and mist ghosted along the ground between the trees where the sun hadn't managed to burn it off yet. Grimlock looked around and decided it had to be fairly early still. The sun was low in the East, sending bright beams between the tree trunks. Barefoot, the mud squished between his toes, cold and sticky, but... kind of funny. Grimlock glanced at Starscream as the Seeker picked his way toward a path and opted not to bring it up.

That was when it struck him.

"There'll be a road to follow!"

"No kidding," Starscream replied, wincing, his gait off due to the boots. "The path here leads around to the north, but any road is a better chance at finding help than wandering through the woods."

Grimlock agreed and set off, even more energized, along the trail.

~

They'd walked for a few hours, but their pace was slower, and Grimlock watched Starscream with growing concern. "Maybe we sh-"

"Stop!" Starscream snapped, and dropped to his aft in the middle of the dirt road. He yanked at the laces and jerked the boots off. "I hate these things!"

Grimlock bit his tongue as the boots were thrown angrily aside, but he could see red and white patches on Starscream's feet. Red from rubbing, white where the blood had been forced away by pressure. He winced in sympathy as Starscream prodded at a bit of bubbled skin on his heel. "Don't break that," Grimlock warned and earned a glare. "It's called a blister, and if it opens, you'll be risking infection."

"I know what a blister is!"

Grimlock held up his hands in surrender and eyed the boots. They'd already stolen them, they'd walked miles so the chances of the original owner seeing them the next time they came out and spotting them felt slim. He took out the steak knife and picked up the boots before sitting down at the side of the road. First, Grimlock took out the laces, and then eyed the seams, then his knife.

"What are you doing?" Starscream asked, and despite the waspy tone, Grimlock could hear genuine curiosity under it.

"Wondering if this knife is sharp enough for us to cut these boots apart at the seams," Grimlock answered and began picking at one with the tip of the knife. "We can use the laces to tie them to the bottom of our feet. Won't keep us dry or warm, but the leather should at least protect us from sharp things. Let us walk a bit faster."

"Do you have another knife?"

Grimlock shook his head. "Only found this one, remember?"

Starscream crossed his arms and stared off. "I hate shoes," he sulked.

~

It took a _while_ , long enough for Grimlock to note that the sun had moved, but he finally got the boot pieces pulled from their soles and separated.

Starscream picked at the pieces with a frown. "That knife's not sharp enough to drill through this. How are we going to keep them on our feet?"

Grimlock held up the laces, though he could use the thin rope he'd brought for his. "I don't think it'll work great, but it'll be better than nothing, and better than you giving yourself blisters." Then he looked at the soles. "We could tie those to the bottom of your feet, if you want?"

But Starscream shook his head and began trying to find the best way to fit the leather to his feet. "My toes would hang over the side, and you don't know how fragging strange it feels to be so disconnected from the ground. You have them."

Grimlock shrugged and took Starscream's foot and the half of one boot the Seeker had been fiddling with. He managed to anchor the lace though the lace holes on one side and wrapped them under and around Starscream's foot, up to his ankle before looping a knot back under the lace itself.

"Hopefully that'll hold," Grimlock said and moved to do the other.

"I can do it!" Starscream said, and Grimlock couldn't help but give him a funny look. That hadn't been snappish, but... a little gasping?

"Ok," Grimlock said easily enough and handed over the other lace.

The thin rope was harder to get through the lace holes, but perseverance paid off, and soon enough Grimlock climbed to his feet. Starscream was up already and stamping around, shuffling his feet, and trying to get used to the leather between him and the ground. It _did_ feel really damn weird, but it also kept the pointy bits of gravel from biting at Grimlock's feet. He could still feel the uneven ground, but it didn't hurt. The rawness that had set in after walking along the dirt and gravel road all morning was soothed a bit.

"Enough of a break," Starscream said, looking west along the road.

"Yeah," Grimlock agreed, and they set off again.


	4. Chapter 4

The road, if it could be called that, wandered on and on into the West through tall, skinny pines. Starscream was sweaty, the jeans chafed in tender places, and he wanted nothing so much as a trip through the washracks and then a direct route to his berth. They were moving faster on the road than in the woods, but it also left them directly under the bright afternoon sun. Starscream was loathe to admit it, but he needed a break, and was just about to say as much when Grimlock called out from ahead.

"Another road!"

Starscream picked up his pace, one hand gripping at the top of the jeans. He needed to retie his rope, apparently.

The new road was only slightly better than the one they had been on in that instead of it being merely dirt with the occasional rock or pebble, this one was intentional gravel. It looked rough though, untended.

"South-ish," Grimlock said, pointing, and Starscream nodded and stopped beside him.

Eventually, they would reach _somewhere_. Humans were everywhere, or at least it had seemed so to Starscream when he flew over their cities and roads and even farms. They packed every nook and cranny of their lands. He and Grimlock both believed if they just headed in the vague direction of the _Ark_ they would hit someone before they found the coast. And if they made it to the coast, they would surely find a city near it easily after that.

Starscream wished he knew how fast they were traveling. It felt impossibly slow, and it was hard to judge distance when so small and surrounded by such tall trees.

"We have another storm brewing," Grimlock said, pointing west.

"Wonderful."

Grimlock glanced at him before looking all around, searching. He must've found whatever he was looking for because a large hand encircled Starscream's wrist and towed him away from the road.

"What are you doing?" But the answer was right in front of Starscream.

"Sit. You look ready to drop." Grimlock dug into his sheet and pulled out a can and the opener for it. "We should eat something anyway."

"What's that one?" Starscream asked, sitting carefully so nothing would get pinched or crushed by the jeans.

"Uh... Fruit cocktail, it says."

They ate two cans of the mix of fruits and drank its thick, too-sweet syrup before moving on. Grimlock carried the empty cans in another fold of his sheet in case they came across another stream- hopefully they would come across another stream. Starscream was thirsty already and while the break had been nice, they were running out of afternoon with which to find shelter.

"I think we're going to be outside again tonight," Grimlock said. The words tore the slim thread of hope Starscream had been clinging to. "I haven't even seen a footpath leading off the road that could take us to another cabin."

Starscream huffed. He hadn't seen anything either, and wasn't happy about it. Tonight, he was going to have to lie on more pokey pine branches, but this time he'd be stuck in these uncomfortable, chafing, coarse, pinching jeans with old leather tied to his feet and a smelly shirt clinging to him. "I don't want to stop yet."

Grimlock looked up, trying to see where the storm went to, but after a few minutes and a check toward the sinking sun, he nodded. "Yeah. A bit farther."

A bit farther didn't do them any good. Once the sun was hidden behind the trees the temperature began to drop. The dampness of sweat turned cold very quickly, and without a word, Starscream began breaking off branches.

"Stay close to the road?" Grimlock asked.

"Near to it as would be safe just in case a human comes by." Not that Starscream held any hope for that. The only sign of humanity he had seen were the cabin, and very distantly, a power line tower between the valley of two blue-ish mountains.

Night had fallen by the time they had their little lean-to ready to sleep in, and Grimlock gingerly sat on the padding of broken off pine branches. "I wish I'd found a lighter. Maybe some matches."

"A fire would be nice," Starscream sighed and sat beside Grimlock. He was getting colder now that he was sitting still, and a fire would be _very_ nice indeed.

"Here," Grimlock said and reached for the bottom edge of Starscream's shirt. "Naked's better than wet."

Starscream made a face, but peeled the shirt off over his head and even went to the trouble of draping it over the top of the lean-to. He wasn't any more warm at all, but it was nice to be out of the clingy damp cloth. "I'm hungry again."

"We should save it for breakfast if we can," Grimlock said and began emptying his sheet and stacking cans. "Empty bellies aren't comfortable, but we'll need the energy more tomorrow than tonight."

"We need the energy, end of sentence." Though Starscream didn't argue more than that. He was exhausted, hungry, thirsty, uncomfortable, and lying down on prickly pine needles and sticks only made it all worse.

Grimlock spread his sheet over them, then covered that with more pine branches. "Good night," he murmured, curling around Starscream as had become habit.

"Night."


	5. Chapter 5

Disoriented and with heavy eyelids, Grimlock dragged himself back to consciousness. At first, he thought the sound was Starscream snuffling, maybe crying, so Grimlock looked down toward the Seeker in his arms first. But no, Starscream was sound asleep still.

An empty can rattled, and Grimlock tipped his head back. Dark fur, large paws...

"No!" Grimlock threw himself to his feet, startling Starscream awake. The bear, too, flinched back, but its long claws remained in the empty can.

A low growl sounded from the other side of their shelter, and Starscream yelped and hurried to his feet.

"Black fight back!" Grimlock gasped, hand going automatically for one of the branches of their lean-to.

"What?!" Starscream shrieked, then outright screamed as the bear rose to its back feet.

Grimlock swung. He went for the standing bear first, but then reversed the swing and gave the one by their food a good swat. Both bears scuttled back, and Grimlock gave chase after the one that had stood up, figuring maybe it was the braver of the two. Once it began to run off, he spun around and charged the other. It wasn't doing anything, but it hadn't moved either, and Starscream was _far_ too close to it, frozen and gaping.

"Get out of here, bear! Get lost!" Grimlock swung the branch, caught the bear on the snout, then its rear as it finally decided to really run. It crashed through the underbrush, fallen twigs snapping, so much louder than it had to have approached. "Damn bears," Grimlock muttered and breathed in deeply, more glad than ever that he and his brothers enjoyed survival shows.

Well, it was early, but there would be no sleeping for Grimlock, so he turned to ask Starscream if he was ready to go, and went still. Starscream's face was ghostly pale under the redness of his sunburn, green eyes wide, and tears streaming down his face.

"Starscream?" Grimlock stepped closer and reached out a hand toward the Seeker. "Star?"

"They... We're..." Starscream hiccupped a sob and covered his face, and Grimlock didn't resist the urge to hug him close.

"We're safe," Grimlock said into Starscream's hair. "They were just after our food. It's spring, they're hungry too."

"Well they can't have it!" Starscream pulled back and scrubbed at his face, struggling to compose himself.

Grimlock let him have his space and began to gather their things in the pale dawn light. The sky above was grey, and the wind was cold now that Grimlock was able to notice it. "Black fight back, brown lay down, ok?" he said to Starscream. "It's just a little thing humans use to remember how to handle bears in the wild."

"I'd rather they just stay away," Starscream said as he picked up his shirt and wrinkled his nose at it. "I don't want to put this back on."

"Yeah, but if nothing else it'll protect you from a worse sunburn." At Starscream's quizzical look, Grimlock poked a finger at his face. "Your skin's red. Humans can be burned by the sun and if it gets too bad, they can get really sick. Wear the shirt, ok?"

Starscream frowned, hesitated, but then pulled the shirt on- inside out, but Grimlock wasn't going to correct him and risk upsetting the Seeker more.

It didn't take long to break down their little camp, kick over the branches of their shelter and get moving. The storm refused to let the sun through, and the morning chill didn't ease off no matter how quickly they stomped along the gravel road. Grimlock clutched his sheet around himself, stomach growling and colder than he'd been since that rain storm.

"We should build a shelter," Grimlock said, but Starscream shook his head. "We need to, Star."

"No. We're too close still."

Ah. The bears. Yeah, that was why they didn't stick around, open food, and invite them back. Grimlock gnawed his lip and was quiet for a minute. "It's too cold."

"No."

And that was the end of it.

~

Starscream had been trudging along, clutching at his own arms when not covering his freezing ears for so long the first kiss of snow startled him. He stopped, crossed his eyes in an attempt to see the snowflake which had landed on the tip of his nose, and stood there a moment before understanding dawned.

"Snow!"

"Yeah," Grimlock said, drawing Starscream's attention. "I think we're in trouble."

You don't say- is what Starscream wanted to snap, but the growing horror choked the words off into a whining squeak. Though really, there was nothing they could do about it. Make a little lean-to? That wouldn't shelter them from the wet snow. It did help as a wind break, and the night before, buried under Grimlock's sheet and the dry pine boughs, Starscream had been comfortably warm until their rude awakening.

But already the snow was beginning to fall faster.

Starscream knew only too well the dangers of a snow storm to a Cybertronian. Being small and organic with a much narrower range of acceptable temperatures could be a death sentence. Starscream didn't wait and began to trot along the side of the road, ignoring the squeeze in his middle from hunger. They could eat when they found shelter. Maybe a fall of trees? Perhaps a cave? Humans could make fire by rubbing two sticks together, right? He and Grimlock would try that.

"Star!" Grimlock called after an indeterminate time later.

Starscream looked back, squinting as the wind blew the thick snowflakes into his face, and followed Grimlock's pointing finger.

**No Trespassing** , the sign read, hanging from the fence and rusted. There was no road, and most of the wire was wrapped around trees rather than fence posts. Starscream would forgive himself for not seeing it and just be glad Grimlock had.

They walked over, and Grimlock frowned. "Razor wire. And no road, so who knows if there even is a house or something back there. Could just be the owner marking their lands."

"I don't care." Starscream looked around until he spotted a branch he could reach to help him over the fence. "We need shelter."

"We don't know that there will be shelter." But Grimlock followed Starscream over the fence only a moment after his feet touched the ground.

The wind kept picking up speed, and the snow fell faster and heavier. Starscream pressed his back to a tree, shaking and said nothing when Grimlock leaned into him, shivering from the cold as well. There was no way to tell if there was a building, and no way to tell which direction, but standing just inside the fence wasn't going to do them any more good than standing on the road.

"Come on." Starscream set off, but Grimlock stayed close, one arm wrapping over Starscream's shoulders and they trudged along, the wind trying to knock them sideways.

~

_We're going to die_ , Starscream thought as they hunched down together in the lee of a thick, sturdy pine. It wasn't a snow storm, it was a blizzard. Branches bent to the driving wind, and each snowflake felt like an icy dagger. They were soaked through and Grimlock was making worried noises and rubbing his toes and Starscream's rather numb ones.

There were so many things that could be wrong with them, even if they found shelter right now.

"A little farther," Grimlock shouted over the wind. "We need to keep moving."

They did, Starscream knew, but he was tired and stiff and hungry. His head hurt and his middle hurt, and he had no idea what time of day it was. It was dark, and they couldn't see more than a few feet around them. There could be a city block ten feet to their left and they would never know.

"Come on," Grimlock urged, and Starscream followed.

Time seemed to stand still as they stumbled between the trees, Grimlock doing his best to block the wind from Starscream with his own bulk. It was... sweet but pointless. Grimlock simply wasn't that big as a human. Oh, he was massive, built of muscle and towering head and shoulders over Starscream, but the wind was determined to murder them.

_I don't want to die_ , Starscream thought as he snagged his toes on a root and fell. Grimlock tried to catch him, but Starscream still landed on his hands and knees. Their reflexes were slowing.

"Please," Grimlock said, draping himself over Starscream, but so cold himself it did nothing. "We have to keep going."

"I'm not giving up, Autobot!" Starscream snapped, but the fire was short-lived. It got him to his feet, and Grimlock wrapped him close, but the hopelessness set in with the next gust.

_No. No, Megatron won't be rid of me this easily!_

Starscream snarled and started trudging again. It didn't matter how sick they got because when they found someone, that someone would take them to a hospital. Then Grimlock would contact his faction and they would be turned back to normal where Ratchet -genius pain in the aft that he was- would repair them. He would repair Starscream too. He would.

The next fall was Grimlock, and he took both of them down, but Starscream's hand slapped flat stone beneath the cover of wet, slushy snow. One look up made his spark soar.

"A house!" Starscream scrambled to his feet and stumble-ran to a wide porch. There were no lights, but this was no grungy dilapidated cabin, but a _home_. Perhaps still a vacation home, but the windows were clean-ish. The great logs sealed, and the door solid.

Numb fingers went to the door, but it was locked and wouldn't budge. Starscream immediately began looking for something to break a window with, but Grimlock had caught up to him and was knocking. Starscream left him to it while he looked, heart and spark both pounding.

"Star!" Grimlock held up a small metal object for only an instant before turning to the door with it.

"A key!"

"Under the mat," Grimlock shouted, then he cried out in relief as the bolt slid back and the door opened inward. "Get inside!"

Not that Starscream needed told to do so, he was already running for the open doorway. They both tumbled through, Grimlock slamming the door shut against the wind. It was cold inside, dark too, but without the wind, it was already better. Starscream stood on the thick carpet and began to shake again while Grimlock flipped a few switches.

"No power."

"Did you expect there to be?" Starscream asked, curious.

"Power would mean a hot shower," Grimlock replied. "Take all that off," he added and began to strip off his sheets, leaving them in a pile by the door before sitting his bare aft on the rug to begin unwinding the rope around his feet.

Starscream frowned, but yes, it would be better to have the wet fabric off. Pits, the shirt crackled with ice as he pulled it over his head. He would absolutely be better off naked. Unfortunately the jeans got caught on his makeshift shoes and he had to sit and fight the wet laces with numb and trembling fingers. Grimlock finished first and turned around to start on Starscream's other foot, and once both were free simply grabbed the bottom cuff of the jeans and yanked them off.

"Maybe they have a fireplace," Grimlock said and stood, offering his hand to Starscream. "I'll find it if you find a bedroom and get us a bunch of blankets."

"Alright." Starscream didn't say that Grimlock's hopes of a fire would need to include dry wood inside the house as well as matches easily accessible in the shadowy darkness. Instead, he made his way up the stairs, legs aching with each step, trying to feel the handrail to guide him. His fingers were stiff and hard to move, icy cold, like the rest of him, but the worst was the prickling, burning feeling in his feet. He was still disconnected from the ground despite being barefoot.

"There's wood!" Grimlock shouted, his voice carrying though a bit muffled.

"Good," Starscream called back and groped his way into a dark room just at the top of the stairs. It was a washroom, so he grabbed a towel to wrap around his head and went into the next open doorway. That room had a bed piled with pillows and layers of blankets, so Starscream scooped them up and flung them all in a heap down the stairwell.

Starscream stripped every bed he found, wincing as he bumped his feet or knees or hands into things, and worried about the tingling numbness. Everything still moved when he tried, but squeezing his hands over his toes made them burn more- both his fingers and toes. He thought he might be warming up a little though. His skin was dry at least, and having his sodden hair bound up in the towel was helping too.

Orange light flickered from off to the right, and Grimlock was picking up pillows and blankets when Starscream headed down with his last load. "Found the lighter," the Dinobot said, dark eyes glittering as he watched Starscream, face drawn and shadowed.

"So I see." Starscream found the floor despite the pile of blankets and pillows covering it and even managed not to stumble as he stepped over and on them. "I'm glad," he added, and let Grimlock lead them back to the fire-lit lounge.

"We'll warm up a bit," Grimlock said and began adding to the nest he was building them near the fireplace. "Then we'll try to raid their kitchen. I tested the faucets, and there is water. Cold as hell, but it's clean."

Starscream simply nodded. Primus, but he wanted to lie down on those pillows Grimlock was so carefully arranging. However, he knew it would be softer and warmer with more, so he left to get the rest.

It really didn't take them long, both desperate to get truly warm. The fire was helping, and Grimlock had moved furniture around to help trap in the heat. He had also been careful to keep them back enough that sparks shouldn't be an issue, and the fire wasn't so large anyway, there not being much wood stacked beside the stone hearth. They could manage though, Starscream thought as he burrowed in and let Grimlock arrange more blankets over them. There was more canned food in the cupboards, dried things too in vacuum sealed bags. They had water. All they had to do was survive until the storm let up and the ground cleared, and they would be fine.

"Are you alright?" Grimlock asked, his voice low.

"Yes," Starscream replied, eyes on the dancing flames. "You?" he asked, only slightly belated.

"Yeah." Grimlock reached up and pulled the towel from his head- something he'd quickly copied once he'd seen Starscream's hair bound up. "Think it's warm enough in here to let our hair dry." When all Starscream did was nod, Grimlock tugged the towel from him as well, tossing both damp cloths over the back of the sofa behind them. "You feel warmer."

"You too," Starscream said and sighed, twisting a bit to curl into Grimlock, his eyelids heavy but his heart pounding. Shame filtered through at his earlier thoughts. It wasn't the first time Starscream had mentally stumbled and considered giving up, but Grimlock hadn't. He'd been afraid, Starscream knew that as it'd shone on the Dinobot's face, but he'd never believed they wouldn't make it. Or, if he had, he had been determined to fight it until his last step while dragging Starscream along with him.

"Thank you," Starscream whispered, gaze on the valley between the heavy muscles of Grimlock's chest.

"For?" Grimlock sounded genuinely confused.

"Helping me," Starscream replied and flattened his hand over the center of Grimlock's chest. "Do you think...?" No, he wasn't going to try using his spark in this form. Primus only knew what would happen to them, but Starscream was _alive_ , and as he warmed up, the very familiar desire to celebrate that fact stole over him.

Not that he was interested in trying to interface the organic way either.

Primus! What was he even thinking? But Starscream stole a glance up at Grimlock, and before he could think any better, stretched up to press their lips together. Grimlock gasped, their lips rough and dry, but Starscream ignored the discomfort.

"Star?" Grimlock rumbled against Starscream's lips- so much like Thundercracker but somehow better.

Starscream didn't bother to answer and squirmed up, or tried to, but Grimlock rolled toward him, the pillows and blankets cocooning them shifting. Wound in blankets and powerful arms, Starscream felt buried in all the best ways. He'd always liked big mechs, and it'd always caused him no end of problems, but Starscream didn't want to think just then. A large hand stroked his back as Grimlock deepened the kiss and growled. Desire ignited in Starscream's spark, something beyond just being happy to have survived, and he moaned softly. The sound only increased Grimlock's ardor, and when that hand moved to travel between Starscream's legs, he gasped and pulled away from the kiss.

"Not that," Starscream said, panting. "I don't... I'm not trying to tease, but..."

"We're organic."

Starscream nodded, and Grimlock moved his hand back to a safer spot in the middle of Starscream's back. He didn't protest or whine or even look like he was considering trying to change Starscream's mind. "Ask me once we're normal."

Grimlock reared back at that, eyes wide. "Really?"

A soft laugh escaped, but Starscream nodded. "Yes, really. I'm not promising I'll say yes, but ask me because right now I don't think I'd say no."

Another soft growl rumbled out from deep in Grimlock's chest, and his mouth covered Starscream's again for a moment. "This is ok though?" he asked without pulled back.

"Yes," Starscream whispered and snuggled closer, tipping his head for another kiss. This he could manage. This he _wanted_. In fact, it took effort not to reach out with his spark, damn the possible risks and consequences. Better, or perhaps worse depending on who was asking, Starscream wasn't playing this from an angle.

_I like him_ , he thought and moaned a little helplessly. Primus help him, he _liked_ an Autobot- a _Dinobot_. Granted Grimlock was clever and smart and kind. He was strong. Starscream groaned again, but this time it was at himself.

"I think," Grimlock said, panting a bit as he drew back, "that we better stop now before either of us forget we should."

Starscream nodded and tucked his head in against Grimlock's shoulder. His body thrummed, spark dancing and heart throbbing. He felt tight and the interface equipment this body came with was engaged and ready. So was Grimlock's, he knew. Yes, they needed to stop.

"A nap and then food?" Starscream asked, and Grimlock nodded, his cheek resting on Starscream's head. And though he'd thought it'd be difficult, as wound up and charged as he was, Starscream felt his eyelids droop as he stared at the fire, and sleep took him rather quickly.


	6. Chapter 6

The blizzard had blown itself out by morning, and Starscream woke to sunlight streaming through the windows. Grimlock dared to go outside mid-morning and only a few minutes later, Starscream heard a motor start up. When the Dinobot walked back inside, stomping his feet to knock off the snow and ice, he smirked and flipped a switch.

"Generator," Grimlock said and proceeded into the kitchen. Impressed and curious, Starscream followed.

They spent the following three days sleeping in their nest in the lounge when tired, eating when hungry -Starscream wasn't sure if Grimlock was an amazing human cook, but he said so anyway- and even managed a few hot showers. Waking to see the ground clear and the sky bright that fourth morning made Starscream just a little disappointed. He wanted to be normal again, but he had enjoyed being with Grimlock. They had spent time reading out loud to one another, and while Starscream didn't understand many of the words despite his ability to read and speak them, it had been... nice. Really nice. He hated to let go of the simple peace they had found no matter how necessary it was.

"Ready?" Grimlock asked after the beds were remade to the best of their abilities, the generator shut down, and a note left explaining the situation to the owner.

"Yes." No. Starscream was not, but they exited the house all the same, dressed again, though this time Grimlock had found some ill-fitting soft, thick pants in one of the bedrooms and a matching, long sleeved shirt. They still wore their makeshift shoes, and though he'd protested, Starscream had a long sleeved shirt to go over the thin white one.

"I'm thinking we follow the driveway to the nearest road and hope it leads us to a town," Grimlock said as he locked the door and put the key back under the mat. Their sheet-bag of canned foods which didn't need cooking -as well as a sealed container of cooked rice- was hefted over the Dinobot's shoulder, but his dark eyes were locked on Starscream's, awaiting an answer.

"I think that sounds reasonable. Eventually we'll find a town or a driver will pass us," Starscream said. He believed it too- he made himself believe it because there would be no more giving up. The quiet days in that house had given Starscream time to think like he hadn't been able to in ages. It was time for a change.

~

They walked all day along what was probably the same gravel road they had been on before the storm hit, still angling more or less south and west as it wound through the trees. The sun was getting low, and both of them were keeping an eye out for a possible campsite when a dull sound echoed through the trees.

Starscream paused to listen, head cocked to the side, but then ahead and to their right, a flash of green metal rattled by. "That was a car!"

Grimlock broke into a run, and Starscream quickly followed. Moments later the gravel road they were on joined a paved one.

"Thank fuck," Grimlock said, his shoulders dropping in relief, and the words -not to mention joy- made Starscream laugh. Grimlock grinned and hooked a hand around Starscream's shoulders, dragging him in for a kiss. "What do you say to continuing on tonight?"

"I say frag yes," Starscream replied instantly, tingling warmth winding through his middle. He missed Grimlock the instant the Dinobot drew back and set off, but then a large hand caught Starscream's and something more than warmth flooded him.

They walked along the edge of the asphalt for hours, well into dark. Starscream couldn't help but look up at the stars as they clattered along. He was getting tired but didn't want to stop.

"Star?"

"Mm?"

"Look up ahead there," Grimlock said, drawing Starscream's gaze down.

Yellow-orange light gleamed through the trees, and Starscream felt both heart and spark pick up in pulse rate. "A street light!" He broke into a run and heard Grimlock laugh and follow at a jog as well. It was just one, but after a bit more walking, they found another. Then another. Then another but closer. Then more lights.

It had to be the middle of the night, and the little town's street was silent, but there was a payphone right up against the cement block wall of what looked to be a food shop. Grimlock hurried to it, and picked up the handle.

"Hi! Yeah, I need to make a collect call," Grimlock said and after a short pause rattled off a series of numbers. "Yeah, that's in America. Washington. Thanks."

Starscream stood off to the side, trying to listen, but Grimlock had the handle pressed tight to his head, his knuckles white where he gripped it and the frame around the unit. Giving up on hearing, Starscream turned and looked at their surroundings. They had rushed, excited, and now Starscream wished he'd paid attention to the very few signs they had passed. Although if the Autobots couldn't trace the call, Starscream was going to mock them endlessly- once he was back to normal.

"Red!" Grimlock gasped. "Yeah, Griml- My what? Oh for fuck's sake. Where's Ratch or Jack?" There was a pause, and Grimlock growled. "I have spent a fucking week in the Canadian wilderness as a goddamn _human_ , so if you don't put my creator on the damn comms, when I get back, I'm going to violate all kinds of regulations."

Starscream snickered.

"Prowl, it's Grimlock, I'm stuck as a human in Canada. I need a ride," Grimlock said before another pause. "Then he shouldn't antagonize me! You sending someone, or should I keep walking and tell border patrol who I am?" Another pause. "Good." The phone was slammed down. "They're sending Skyfire right now, we're supposed to go back up the road a good mile or so, so he doesn't wake the whole town."

"Great," Starscream said, but inside he was grumbling. Nothing had been the same since Skyfire was found, and while part of that was the ice sickness, part of it was that Starscream really had changed just that much. He still wasn't at all excited to see his old -former- friend again, though in truth it made the most sense to send him. "I notice you didn't mention me."

Grimlock snorted. "You did hear it was Red who answered and then Prowl, right?"

Starscream grinned. "I did."

Grimlock shook his head, and they left behind the unnamed little town.


	7. Eplogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where the fic earns it's Explicit tag.

Starscream twisted and turned in front of the mirror in one of the medbay's private rooms, hands tracking over his frame and relief in his spark. It had only taken Wheeljack a few days to figure out what happened and reverse it.

"Looks like everything's back where it should be," Grimlock said from where he appeared in the doorway, voice a deep rumble.

"The same can be said for you." Starscream turned to face the Dinobot, knowing that all too soon, he would need to leave. Prime had agreed not to inform Megatron, but that had been when Starscream was a tiny, easily controlled human. Looking at Grimlock though, Starscream realized perhaps he had a choice. "What if..." He bit his lip and frowned down at the floor a moment before meeting Grimlock's gaze again. "What if I didn't want to leave?"

Grimlock swept forward, and Starscream found himself wrapped in powerful arms, pressed to the wall, and kissed before he even registered Grimlock's mask retracting. It was better than their other kisses, Starscream thought. Right. Soft, pliable silicon pressed against his own lips, moved then parted so Grimlock could lick into his mouth. He let it go on, let himself truly enjoy it, for a few minutes before drawing back.

"I'm not saying I can stay," Starscream murmured, and knew the regret echoed in his field. "Just that I don't want to leave."

"What would convince you to stay?" Grimlock asked and nuzzled into Starscream's neck.

A number of answers popped into Starscream's head, all lewd, but they weren't really the truth, and Starscream -for unfathomable reasons- didn't want to lie, or even tell a half-truth, to Grimlock. "I'm beholden to my trine. Much as we fight, I can't abandon them to Megatron. Or the other seekers, but... I don't know. Maybe we can figure something out. I just don't want to go further now with you thinking I won't leave, because I will. I don't want to though."

Grimlock retracted the visor too, and Starscream was left staring at a very familiar face. "Then we'll figure something out." He purred softly as Starscream grazed his fingertips along his jaw. "What do you want out of this moment?"

"Is the door locked?" Starscream asked with a smirk and drew his legs up to wrap them around Grimlock's waist.

"It can be." Grimlock deposited Starscream on the med berth before locking the door.

Starscream laid back and made himself comfortable, enjoying the feeling of his wings pressed into the berth padding. A giddy little zing whipped through his spark as he wondered if this was really happening. He wanted it, even more now than when they had been cradled in their nest of pillows and blankets, but there was something surreal about it.

Not to mention a bit... naughty.

They were in the Autobots' medbay with Ratchet and who knew which other Autobots just beyond the door, and Starscream was about to interface with a Dinobot.

Life, Starscream decided, was damn weird.

And maybe good? Maybe it could be good? He clearly needed to try something different, and one couldn't get much different than this.

Grimlock wore a smirk as he turned back to Starscream. "Comfy?"

"Quite." Starscream smiled back and let his knees fall apart a little. His array buzzed, and it would be embarrassing if Grimlock's field wasn't rolling in waves of heady lust against him. "It's been a while," he warned, but sat up a bit as Grimlock hooked a stool with his foot and dragged it to the bottom of the berth. "What are you doing?"

"Even if it hadn't been a while, I wouldn't be able to just dive right in," Grimlock said as he slid his palms down Starscream's shins and grasped his ankles. "You're too little," he added with a teasing grin, then yanked.

Starscream had been expecting it and laughed as his aft was settled for him right at the edge of the berth, his legs draped over Grimlock's shoulders. "How is this not diving right in?"

A trail of soft kisses followed the inner seam of Starscream's thigh up to just short of his array. "It's not," Grimlock said, voice a rumble that shot straight to Starscream's core. He had to fight to keep his panel shut, though nothing could stop the rather loud sound of the locks disengaging.

Grimlock's smile grew before dipping out of sight between Starscream's thighs to map the other inner seam just like the first. After light kisses came the soft licks and light bites that scraped Grimlock's teeth ever so gently over those seams until Starscream was panting and resisting the urge to demand more. This needed to last. He needed to be sure he absorbed every nuance because Primus only knew the next time Starscream would be able to escape and do it again.

Thoughts for later, however, because Grimlock's purr had grown hungry and his mouth more demanding as it finally met Starscream's panel. Starscream shivered right out to his wingtips as Grimlock licked a wide swath right up the panel.

"Open for me," Grimlock rumbled, seismic and deep, and Starscream's array bared itself to him.

"Oh Primus!" Starscream gasped, hips lifting as a hot exvent blew over the sensitive surface.

"So wet," Grimlock purred then licked again from the bottom edge of Starscream's array, over the twitching opening of his valve, across the sensor cluster between valve and spike, then swept his tongue around the spike housing itself. "You taste perfect."

Thighs shaking, Starscream clung to the sides of the berth, back arched to press himself harder to Grimlock's mouth. It'd been _ages_ since anyone had done this for him, and Starscream had forgotten how intense it could be. Especially when Grimlock dipped lower and thrust his tongue into Starscream with a growl. Body humming from tension, Starscream only lasted another moment before he was catapulted into release. The sharp cry echoed in the small room, and Grimlock moaned as he continued to lick and suck at Starscream's array.

Limp and shaking, Starscream squirmed a bit when it became too much, and Grimlock eased back, kissing out along his thigh.

"Want you," Grimlock said, his voice raw with need, and it made Starscream's spark flutter.

"You're the one teasing," Starscream replied, his words breathless and faint. "I'm ready and waiting."

"Doubt you're ready." Grimlock then proved himself both right and wrong by pushing one thick finger into Starscream. It slipped in easily, and Starscream clenched around it, gasping as his charge skyrocketed once again, but Primus! Starscream could feel it easily, maybe just a bit slimmer than one of his trinemate's spikes.

Starscream moaned, hips rolling into the slow strokes Grimlock used, then again as a second finger was added. It certainly didn't hurt, but there was a bit of a stretch this time. "Tease," he accused again, claws biting into the berth padding.

"Preparing," Grimlock said, but there was a laugh in his tone, and Starscream gave his back a little kick for it.

"Worst tease ever."

Grimlock did laugh at that. "Or best." A soft kiss was pressed to Starscream's thigh. "I won't hurt you. Not now when I can finally have you."

"Finally?" Because that sounded longer than just the week they'd been together. Starscream was pleasure-addled but not so much as to miss the flavor of an old ache under the word and in Grimlock's field. He lifted his head to look at Grimlock, fighting against the bliss of need that made him want to shut his optics and surrender.

Grimlock shrugged, shoulders jostling Starscream's legs, and ducked his head a bit- adorably if Starscream said so. "I noticed you long ago. About the time a young mech starts noticing things like how pretty other mechs can be." He then added a third finger, and Starscream conceded the battle. There would be time later to demand a better answer.

"Now you're just showing off," Starscream gasped. Nearly every sensor node in his valve was stimulated and it was amazing... but not perfect. "Frag me already!" Another little kick punctuated the demand, but Grimlock simply tipped his head in again and purred right against Starscream's anterior cluster.

Starscream floated back down into his frame to find himself still charged despite the overload. His legs were no longer draped over Grimlock's shoulders, instead they were held wide at the knees, and a heavy, hot weight stroked back and forth over his array. Once Starscream got his optics back online, he looked up to see a smirking Dinobot standing over him.

"Still ready for more?" Grimlock asked, and Starscream realized that weight was a spike.

"Primus!" Starscream's mouth went dry and his valve spasmed at the sight of the thick, rigid spike rubbing over him. Grimlock had been courteous enough not to start without him, and Starscream was glad. He wouldn't have wanted to miss this sight. "You have a mod?" he asked, and his valve clenched again when he imagined feeling that knot locked inside him.

"Built with it," Grimlock answered and pushed up until the bulge of the knot rode right over Starscream's anterior cluster. Need filled Starscream, and he rolled up to press against it. "I won't use-"

"You fragging better!" Starscream shouted and kicked again, though this time his foot merely swung.

"Star-"

"In me! Now!" Starscream bucked and arched and tried to curl himself enough to catch the end of Grimlock's spike. He failed in that, but not in teasing Grimlock back a bit.

"Fuck," Grimlock gasped and drew back enough to line himself up. He stopped! And Starscream nearly screamed in frustration, but deep red optics met and held Starscream's own. "If it hurts, you tell me."

"It won't!"

"If it hurts-"

"Yes! Fine! I will tell you!" Starscream growled and squirmed and arched, only to fall limp and keen as Grimlock _finally_ edged into his valve.

Every sensor at the rim of Starscream's valve lit up.

"Ok?"

"Don't you dare stop," Starscream groaned. He felt every caliper spread, felt the lining stretch to what had to be the very limits of its give, and still Grimlock press deeper, driving searing pleasure through Starscream with every micron of progress.

Starscream writhed as the knot finally kissed his array. "Yes, yes, yes..." he panted, unable to remain still, not even when Grimlock shifted his grip from Starscream's legs to his hips. "Oh, Primus, yes!"

Then Grimlock rocked back and _thrust_ into Starscream. Then again, and again, and- Starscream wailed in release, hands flashing from the berth to Grimlock's arms in a flailing attempt to keep himself from flying apart. When Grimlock eased them to a stop, Starscream couldn't help but whimper and shake his head, but Grimlock still pulled away. No matter how Starscream clawed after him, he was too dazed and shaky to succeed.

"No!"

"Turn over," Grimlock said even as he lifted and pulled at Starscream, helping him over onto his belly.

Starscream allowed himself to be positioned on his knees, but his arms wouldn't hold him up. Grimlock palmed his aft, large hands gripping and kneading for a moment before he reached _past_ Starscream. The berth moving startled Starscream, but he understood the moment Grimlock straightened and lined himself back up. Grimlock had lowered the berth for a better angle- smart mech.

"Please," Starscream whimpered and pushed his aft back before muffling himself with the berth padding.

"Tell me if anything hurts," Grimlock said, then eased himself back in.

Starscream shook and trembled when the knot pressed to his array again. Grimlock rocked against him, gripped Starscream's hips, then pushed fully in. Starscream was launched straight into another overload, crying out as he ground back, the tip of Grimlock's spike riding right up against the cluster of nodes at the end of Starscream's valve. Grimlock curled down over Starscream, and heat and weight blanketed him. It was soothing and enflaming all at once, familiar from the week before despite the frame difference.

"You're perfect," Grimlock rumbled, and Starscream felt the words vibrate all the way to his spark. "I've dreamed of this," he moaned against Starscream's audial. "So many damn times."

All Starscream could to was cling to the hand that reached for his and gasp as the impossible fullness increased. Grimlock rocked over him, the knot pulling just enough to test the lock before he pushed back in. Every node of Starscream's body was alight as Grimlock set a rolling pace. He flew without leaving the ground, his spark thrumming and body straining toward release.

Grimlock growled and thrust harder, his rhythm beginning to falter. There were more words too, compliments and endearments that Starscream couldn't understand beyond the open affection in them as he became completely lost in the ecstasy overwhelming him. It wound him tighter, higher, held him to the very edge for a breathless moment before finally launching him free. Starscream's scream broke over gasping sobs, and Grimlock plunged deep one last time, his roar filling their small world as heat flooded into Starscream's valve. His mind spiraled out with a final overload.

~ 

"-back to me, Star," a warm, deep voice murmured against Starscream's helm.

"Nnghh..." Starscream said intelligently and curled toward the source of heat and comfort.

"There you are," Grimlock said, and Starscream felt the smile against his cheek. "I was beginning to worry."

"Cuz you wrecked me?" Starscream asked, the words slurring.

"Good wreck, I hope."

"Th'best." Starscream stirred himself enough to wrap his fingers around the edge of Grimlock's armor and get a nice solid grip.

"Thought you had to leave after we were done?" Grimlock asked, nuzzling Starscream's head and placing soft little kisses here and there.

"So you're done with me?" Starscream asked and looked up at Grimlock with a pout that didn't quite manage to disguise the coy tone.

Instead of playing back, Grimlock said, "Never," in such an utterly sincere tone, Starscream's optics began to sting a little.

"Hm. Well, then. I want a proper nap before letting you see me off." Starscream tucked himself back in and purred when Grimlock kissed his head again. He didn't know how he was going to make it all work, but he was going to get the other Seekers, the other survivors on Cybertron, his trine, and then come back to Grimlock. And then he was never again going to let himself forget what it was like to have someone _genuinely_ care for him.

**Author's Note:**

> Check out [my post here on DW](https://ladydragon76.dreamwidth.org/334490.html) for more info on me and what I'm up to!


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